You saved me
by Bella1300
Summary: She wanted a fresh start and returned to the one place no one would think to look for her. He was a womenizer. Love em and Leave em, those were words he lived by. Neither wanted a serious realationship.To bad fate had other plan's. AU Mer/Mark
1. Who say's you can't go home?

Summary: She wanted a fresh start and returned to the one place no one would think to look for her. He was a womanizer. Love em and Leave em, those were words he lived by. Neither were looking for a serious relationship. To bad fate had other plans. AU Mer/Mark

A/N: I know it's been done before. How unoriginal right? But this idea came to me and wouldn't leave me alone until I attempted to write it. Meredith's background it some what different from the show. You'll have to read to find out how. Mark, Derek and Addison's background is still pretty much the same. Mark and Addison slept together. Derek caught them, blah, blah, blah. You should know the rest. The only difference is Meredith and Derek never slept together…Why? Because she wasn't around yet. Where was she? Well, that will come in good time. I don't plan to follow the show and Derek and Addison are together in this story but the main focus will be on Mark and Meredith so if that's going to upset you, you may want to leave now. If there's any other questions feel free to pm me. Rated T for now, subject to change at anytime. After all it is Grey's Anatomy but we'll have to see how that goes. I don't want to scar you guy's for life.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you know from the show. Maddie, yeah she belongs to me.

Just a little warning, this story is un-beta. All mistake are mine and I apologize a head of time.

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**Who say's you can't go home?**

Meredith was pulled from her sleep by a tiny foot kicking her hard in the side. Letting out a soft groan, she opened her eyes and immediately shot up, confused. It took a minute but it finally registered that she was laying in the middle of her living room, in her house…in Seattle.

Seattle. She hadn't been to Seattle since she was five year's old. Well, that was a lie. She was in Seattle just over a month ago, for her mother's funeral but before that, it had been year's. It was kind of ironic, when her mother fell ill, she returned to the one place she had been avoiding Meredith's entire life. When she was little, Seattle was the only place she wanted to go. Whenever her mom asked where she wanted to go on vacation, even though she knew they would never actually go on one, Meredith always said Seattle, home. Her mother was quick to point out that Seattle was no longer their home, Boston was and then change the subject. .

As she grew up, her mother's words rang true. Seattle was no longer home, it was the place where her father had abandon her. Left her to live a miserable life with her mother, to whom she was never going to be good enough for, no matter what she did. It wasn't long before she rebeled. Doing anything in her power to make her mother's life as miserable as hers. Turning into the prefect example of what you wouldn't want your only daughter to turn into. School came second to partying and alcohol made her forget her trouble life.

This carried over into collage and no one was more surprised then Meredith when she found out she would graduate. After traveled the Europe for a while she seem to have gotten her life back on track but it only took a week with her mother to send her back to evil way's. Not really knowing why, she entered medical school. It was then that she was offered a position in the surgical residency program at both, Seattle Grace and Albemarle in North Carolina. Deciding a long time ago she never wanted to return to Seattle, she accepted the position in North Carolina.

The birds chirping outside the window brought Meredith out of her thought's. She stretched and twisted her body, trying to bring some relief to the stiffness from sleeping on the floor all night. She hoped their furniture would be here soon. It was then that she realized bird were chirping outside her window. If the birds where chirping that meant she was late. She was suppose be in a meeting at eight and Madison was suppose to be at the school by seven thirty. Which meant she should be walking through the hospital before the bird's started to chirp outside her window.

"Munch, baby you have to get up." Meredith said shaking her young daughter while searching the floor for her cell phone. Finally, she found it and let out a groan when she saw it was past nine.

"Munchkin, I know you're tired but you have to get up. We're late." she said, once again shaking her. Maddie only response was pushing her mom's hand away and cuddling up under the warm blankets.

"Madison Marie, I'm going to get our clothes and by the time I get back, you better be awake." Meredith warned, scrambling to her feet to gather the clothes she had hung out the night before.

By the time she returned to the living room, Maddie was sitting up in the middle of the make shift bed, Meredith had built the night before, looking around confused. Madison Marie Grey, Maddie for short, was born August 10, 2001. Meredith was shocked to learn she was pregnant, a result of a drunken one night stand, never to be seen again. First came the shock, then denial, fear, panic and finally acceptance. The result was the beautiful five year old that sat in front of her. She was her mother's daughter all the way. The same color hair, darker in the winter, lighter in the summer. The same petite body, the same smile, personality and temper. She was Meredith's mini-me.

It was when Maddie turned and looked at her, she felt the twinge of pain. Everything was her but Maddie's eyes. Meredith's were small, almond shape and green while Maddie had big, brown, doe like eye's. And she knew how to use them to. From sad eyes to happy eyes, she swore Maddie could bring on tear's at the drop of a hat and when she was mad, they turned black. It scared the hell out of Meredith the first time Maddie sent a glare her way. It was the only reminder that her daughter was going to grow up with out a father.

Not that she was out searching for Maddie's new daddy, she wasn't. She was more then capable of caring for the young child by herself. She's done it now for five year's and they've survived. It hasn't always been easy but they've made it to where they are today with only a few bumps and bruises. What made her feel guilty was the fact that her daughter had to grow up with out a dad, much like she did and she was in constant fear their relationship would end up like the one she had with her mother.

"Where are we, Mommy?" Madison asked, her voice filled with sleep.

"Seattle Munch. Remember, today's your first day of school." Meredith said, trying to sound excited as she slipped off the night gown while Maddie was distracted.

"I don't want to go. Can I stay home with you?" she asked looking up at Meredith. She let out a sigh when she saw the slight pout come to her daughters face. Sure enough, Maddie's eyes seem to fill up with tears as she added "Please, Mommy."

She quickly pulled the shirt over Maddie's head to avoid looking at her sad face and pulled her in for a tight hug, saying "Mommy has to go to work, baby."

It wasn't a complete lie and she didn't look her in the eye. But when Maddie pulled away and looked at her, she felt guilty. She did have to go to the hospital, for a meeting she was an hour late for but that was all. The mover's were suppose to be at the house between noon and three and Richard wanted to give her a day to adjust, get her thing's in order and get everything situated before she began her residency. She still planned on going to the hospital, if only to receive a lecture from Richard about not showing up for the meeting. It would be nice to get the lay out of the hospital before she started tomorrow. She frowned when she checked her phone again to see that it was going on nine thirty.

"I can go with you. I'll be good. I promise." Maddie begged

"Not today, Munch. Besides, you'll have ton's more fun at school and maybe you'll make some friends."

"I want to stay with you." Maddie said, her voice trembling and fear in her eyes.

Meredith cursed the asshole who made her daughter feeling the way she was feeling. Then the guilty kicked in. She was the one that allowed said asshole into their life. They were fine before he came along. Meredith shook her head to clear her thought's. That was over and they would be fine, again. Soon, hopefully.

"Everything going to be ok. I promise, baby." Meredith said as she helped Maddie to her feet so she could pull up her jeans. The frown didn't wavier from Maddie's face and Meredith let out a soft sigh, saying "I want you to do something for me, alright?"

Maddie's eyes lit up and she nodded her head. Meredith laughed, as her daughter came to life.

"Today, when you're at school, I want you to draw me a pretty picture so I can hang it in my locker at work. Then before you know it, I'll be there to get you and when we get home, all your toy's will be here."

"You're picking me up?" Maddie asked

"I'll be waiting in the hallway."

Maddie stuck out her pinky, asking "Promise?"

Meredith smile at her as she stuck out her own pinky, hooking it with Maddie's, saying "Promise."

She kissed Maddie on the forehead before standing up. Grabbing some jeans and a simply shirt, she quickly changed, deciding that the outfit she laid out the night before no longer matter. She would only have time to talk with Richard before having to get back to the house, so there wasn't any reason to dress up. They quickly brushed their teeth and Meredith comb Maddie's hair, pulling the sides back and securing them in place with a barrette before grabbing a donut for Maddie to eat on the way to her school. She looked out the window and smiled. _At least it's sunny out,_ she thought as she grabbed her purse, a light jacket for Maddie and her book bag. The smile soon fade after she buckled Maddie into her booster seat, when she looked up and saw the dark clouds looming. She drove the short distant to Maddie's school and pulled into the parking lot.

"Mommy, I'm thirsty."

Meredith hand Maddie her bottled water before getting out and helping her out of the back seat. She grabbed her book bag before taking Maddie's hand in hers, saying "Come on Munchkin, before it rains."

"I hate the rain." Maddie claimed making a face at the now sunless sky.

"Me, too." Meredith said with a giggle when she saw her daughters face.

They walked into the school and immediately found themselves in the office. Meredith smile at the lady behind the desk as she picked up Maddie, placing her on her hip so she could see over the counter.

"Hi, I'm Meredith Grey, this is Madison Grey. Well, Maddie Grey. She was suppose to start today and we had a late start. We just moved here from North Carolina and when I say just, I mean just. We arrived around 10 last night." She rambled, absentmindedly rubbed the back of Maddie's head when she felt her hide her face in her hair. Normal, Maddie was an out spoken kid but moving clear across the country, starting school and everything they've been through in the last couple of months was a lot for a five year old to handle.

"Don't worry about it. It's not the first time it's happen and I'm sure it won't be the last. I'll check what class she in and then take you there." the women said with a smile before hit a couple of button's on the key broad "Ah, here we go. Maddie's in Mrs. Kenny class. Right this way."

Meredith smile as she put Maddie down. In return, she gripped her mothers hand tightly as they followed the lady down the hall and around the corner.

"Here we are." she said before going to knock on the door.

"Wait," Meredith suddenly said. Squatting down so she was eye to eye with Maddie, she said "You ready for this, babe?"

Maddie nodded but didn't look so sure of herself. Meredith felt a tug at her heart and she almost gave into the urge to pick her daughter up and run as fast as she could back to the car. Almost.

"I'll be right there waiting for you when it's time to go home, ok?" she said pointing to a spot on the wall.

Maddie, once again, nodded her head. A little more confident this time. She wrapped her arms around her mom's neck and gave her a tight hug, which Meredith returned. The women from the office gave Meredith a sympathetic smile when she saw her biting her lip to hold back the tears that had filled her eyes.

"Alright, Munchkin." Meredith said as she pulled out of her daughters tight embrace "I want you to be a good girl today and I'll see you in a few hours."

"Right there?" Maddie asked pointing to the same spot Meredith had.

"Right there." Meredith confirmed with a smile.

Maddie gave her mom a small smile before turn towards the door once again.

"Wait." Meredith once again call out. This time the lady merely raised an eyebrow, wondering if she ever planed on actually leaving. "It's her first day of school and I don't have a picture. Don't most parent's take a picture?"

The lady let out a small laugh as she nodded her head before looking at Meredith like she was waiting for something. When Meredith shot her a confused look, the lady said "Do you have a camera?"

"Camera, right. You need a camera to take a picture." she said. Finally, an idea came to her and she started digging around in her purse before pulling out her cell phone. "Alright, Maddie, smile big." she said as she aimed her phone at her.

A big grin cross Maddie's face as she put her hands on her hips and titled her head to the side. Meredith bit the inside of her cheek to stop the laughter that was dieing to escape. One thing was for sure, Madison was a ham when it came to getting her picture taken. She would always strike a pose, with a big smile on face and then would demand to see the picture. If she didn't like it, she would make you delete it and take another. By the end of the week, their house would be filled with picture of Maddie or Maddie and Meredith along with the countless amounts of photo albums and picture that filled up numerous amounts of photo boxes.

"Let me see." Maddie giggle as she took the cell phone from her "That's a pretty one mommy."

"It's beautiful, Munch." Meredith agreed.

As she reached for the phone, Maddie turned and handed it to the lady, saying "Now, you take one of me and Mommy."

"Madison Marie, where have your manner's gone?" Meredith exclaimed

Maddie turned to her mom, shooting her an apologetic smile before turning back to the lady. Meredith rolled her eye's as Maddie gave the lady a sad look, adding "Please?"

"It's fine," the lady said with a soft laugh "Besides, you'll want one of the two of you."

Meredith gave her a smile before quickly instructing her how to use it. She kneeled down so she was the same height as Maddie and rested her chin on her shoulder. "Smile big, Munch." She whispered in her daughters ear.

"Precious." the lady said, handing the phone back to Meredith "She look's just like you."

"I know, poor kid." Meredith joked

"Let me see, Mommy."

"Oh sorry."

Maddie looked over the picture before saying "Beautiful."

Meredith smiled at her before saying "Alright, it really time to go into the classroom now. I'll see you in a couple hours."

Maddie nodded giving her mom one more hug as the lady knocked on the door. Meredith stood up and Maddie turned to face the door when it opened.

"Mrs. Kenny, this is Maddie Grey. She had a late start today." the women introduced

"I was wondering when you were going to show up." Mrs. Kenny smiled before shoot Meredith a smile "Are you ready to start kindergarten?"

Maddie nodded her head. With a big smile on her face, she turned and waved to her mom.

"By, Munchkin." Meredith said softly.

As the door shut behind Maddie, Meredith looked down at her phone and smile. She loved the pictures of her daughter posing but the candid shot's were her favorite. All of her favorite photo's of Maddie where taken when Maddie was just being Maddie and she didn't know her picture was being taken. In this picture, Maddie was looking at her mom, not the camera, with a big smile on her face, waving.

"Don't worry, it get's easier with time." the women said when she noticed the tears in Meredith's eyes.

Meredith let out a little laugh as she whipped her cheeks, saying "I hope so. Three thirty's pick up time right?"

The women nodded as the started to walk back towards the entrance.

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Parked in the hospital parking lot, Meredith stared at entrance of Seattle Grace. She had been there for five minutes and she couldn't bring herself to get out of the car. The dark clouds still hung in the sky, threaten to spill open at anytime. She wasn't afraid of the lecture she knew she was going to have endure from Richard. She's be on the receiving end of those lecture most her life. Richard was the closest thing she had to a father. She was aware of the 'special' friendship her mother and him shared, only realizing when she was older the exact definition of special.

What sacred her, was what the last name Grey meant to this hospital. Well, most hospital knew of Ellis Grey but this was where she started. Ellis was a hero in this hospital and she knew it wouldn't be to long before people started to connect the dot's. Over the past couple years, she quickly learned how to tell the difference between the people who wanted to know her strictly because she was Ellis Grey's daughter and those who wanted to know her, Meredith Grey. It wasn't like she could offer anyone anything, just because of who her mother was but most people seem to think she could. Now, more then ever, Meredith was nervous about letting anyone into her life, much less into Maddie's life. They've been through enough the past couple of months and Meredith wanted Maddie to feel secure again before letting anyone in.

The loud crackle of thunder brought her out of her thoughts and she focused on the windshield just in time to see a rain drop splatter against it. _Great_, she thought as she pulled the key's from the ignition. Jumping out of the car, she made sure it was locked before jogging towards the door. The rain came pouring down as soon as she reached the door. It was then she realized, she forgot her purse in the car. She watched as the rain poured down, bouncing off the ground as she debated on going back for her purse. Thunder crackled again as she took a step towards the car, making her stop.

"Fine, I'm going in." She muttered to the sky before turning on her heel and walking through the doors.

She had fuzz memories of Seattle Grace, seeing that it had been years since she's step foot in the hospital, she wasn't sure where to go. Deciding it would be best to go to Richards office, she walked to the front desk, surprised to see it empty besides, who she assumed was a hospital employee judging from the women's attire. The women looked up slightly before turn to her side, putting her back towards Meredith. A frown appeared on Meredith's face, wondering what the women's problem was. Shaking her head she looked around to see if she could spot anyone else that could point her in the right direction and was surprised to see how empty the main lobby was. Albemarle was always busy with people walking through the hospital but the only person around, beside the people in the waiting area, was this rude women. Who obviously didn't want to help Meredith. She waited five minutes before letting out a deep breath.

"Look, I just need to know where the Chief office is." Meredith finally said.

The women either ignored her or didn't hear her and judging from the way she had been acting since Meredith arrived at the front desk, she guessed the women heard her.

"Hey," Meredith said giving the women's shoulder a slight tap. The women couldn't ignore this and shot her an evil glare over her shoulder. "Just tell me how to get to the Chief's office and I'll-"

"Take the elevator to the second floor, take a right and keep walking until you can't walk any further, two left's then another right and it's the white door labeled Chief of Surgery." The women said cutting Meredith off and just as quickly as she spoke, her back was turned to Meredith, again.

"Thanks." Meredith mumbled under her breath as she walked away, not giving the women another look.

"Yang, Whose the hot chick?"

The women rolled her eyes and turned to face the owner of the offending voice, saying "Where's Izzie?"

"About to kill her interns." The man said with a shrug of his shoulder "Whose the hot chick?"

"Don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Not until you answer my question."

"I don't know. I didn't get her life story, she just wanted to know how to get the Chief's office."

"Ah," the man said with a slight smirk on his face "They just keep getting younger and younger."

The women rolled her eyes, saying "Or it could be the new resident that never show up this morning."

"Right, the meeting." the man said "How'd that go?"

"Well, if either you or Izzie bothered to show up, you would know." she said with a smirk before walking away "The sectary had to grab something real quick, watch the front desk until she returns."

"What!" the man exclaimed as the women just waved over her shoulder "Cristina, I'm not watching the front desk for you."

"Sure you are." the women said as she stopped and turned to face the man "Or I just might have to fill Izzie in on the 'hot chick', Karev."

The man's face paled slightly and the women laughed as she continued on her way, disappearing around the corner.

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"Here's your coffee, Dr. Sloan."

Mark Sloan turned to the voice and snatched the cup of coffee out of the interns hand. Taking a drink, he made a face, saying "This is the third cup of coffee you've brought me. How many times do I have to tell you, four teaspoons of sugar, half milk, half cream and the rest coffee. It's not that hard." he paused to throw the cup in the nearest trash before saying "Go make yourself useful in the pit."

A smirk appeared on Mark's face as he watched the intern scurry down the hallway as fast as he could. He turned to look behind him when he heard a chuckle and the smirk only grew.

"What was wrong with that cup?"

"Nothing." Mark said with a laugh "You should know by now I like to mess with the interns head, Shep."

"One of these day's they're going to get brave and put something in your coffee." Derek said "Think about it, you always taste it before throwing it way."

Mark leaned his back against the counter, where Derek was going over a file and laughed "No they won't because then they won't be able to scrub in for any surgery for at least a month. I can promise you that."

Derek shook his head and laughed. They've known each other for years and Mark hasn't changed. Confident and arrogant as hell, Mark Sloan always did things the way he wanted to and anyone who tried to stop him, could go to hell. He was a ladies man and no matter how bad he treated them or how much they tried to resist him, Mark won. If Mark wanted it, in the end, he got it. Did what he pleased with them and then tossed them way, ready to move on t the nexts. They lost contact for a while because Mark crossed the line. His womanizer way's getting the best of him and he ended up betraying Derek's trust once again. It was one thing when he slept with one of his sister but when Derek found him in bed with his wife, all bet's were off.

Derek disappeared to Seattle only for Addison to follow some short months later. Mark eventually ended up there too. At first it was to claim Addison and get her to go back to New York with him. At least that what he said but soon, his true feelings started to show when he finally admitted to Derek that it was their friendship he wanted to mend, the hell with Addison. Slowly but surly things started to mend between Addison and Derek which resulted in Derek talking to Mark. They didn't have the kind of friendship they had before and both of them knew it would never be that way again but at least they were speaking. As for Mark and Addison, they tolerated each other for Derek's sake. None of them brought the past up but rumors seem to find their way around the hospital and Derek didn't know whether to laugh or be angry at the fact that it only seem to boost women's interest in Mark.

"Fresh meat." Mark's whisper brought Derek out of his thoughts. He looked up just in time to see a flash of a women pass them, stopping at the end of the hallway for a minute before turning right and disappearing from sight.

"Done with Jenny, already?" Derek questioned turning his attention back to the file in front of him.

"Jenny's old news." Mark said with a shrug of his shoulders "Besides, I've seen something else I want."

Derek laughed as he closed the file and pushed it aside. He looked over at Mark, asking "Drink at Joe's after work?"

Mark nodded as he started walking in the direction the mysteries women had gone.

"I thought you had a consult?"

"I can't let a lady wonder around lost, can I?" Mark replied innocently before he too, disappeared around the corner.

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Meredith repeated the rude women's direction in her head as she stepped off the elevator. _Second floor, check _she thought. _Now take a right and walk until you can't walk any further_. She was relieved when she took the second left and the hospital room's seem to transform into offices. She picked up her pace to escape having to talk to, who she assumed were doctor, leaning against a counter. She paused and looked around until she saw the door labeled Chief of Surgery. Letting out a sigh of relief, she approached the door and reach out for the door knob only to pull her hand away. Richard was going to mad enough without her bursting in. Knocking light on the door, she waited.

"Come in." came the grumpy reply.

Meredith took a deep breath, mental papering her defensive before she reached for the door knob again. Plastering a smile on her face, she open the door.

The Chief didn't bother to look up as he said "Nice of you to finally show up."

"I'm know and I'm so sorry Rich- Chief. Maddie was a nightmare to last night, none of our stuff is here yet and the stupid alarm didn't go off this morning. Maddie was two in an half hours late for school." Meredith rambled.

She didn't miss the smile that crossed Richard's face when she mentioned Maddie, after all he as Papa Richard to her.

"How'd that go? Dropping Maddie off at school?"

_Stick to Maddie, he can't stay mad when you talk about Maddie, _she thought before saying "Maddie was fine. Me, on the other hand, I was complete wreck. It took all my strength to leave her there. Oh, I've got pictures."

He raised an eyebrow when she pulled out her cell phone. He got up from his chair and walked around the desk, standing in front of her.

"I forgot a camera." she said sheepishly before pushing a few buttons on her phone. Finally, she hand it to him.

"God, she looks just like you." he said as he flipped through the picture "I expected a copy of one of these."

"Of course. As soon as I have the computer set up." She nodded

He let out a sigh before saying "This can't happen again, Dr. Grey. I called a meeting this morning, pulling most of my doctor's and resident's away from their work to meet you only to tell them you had an family emergency and wouldn't be able to make it."

"It won't happen again, Chief." she promised

He nodded before pulling her into a hug, saying "I'm glad you're finally home, Meredith. I've been going crazy for the past month worrying about you two."

She merely nodded as she returned his hug. It was similar hug, he gave her at her mother's funeral that brought her here. She never shied away from Richard so when he pulled her in for a hug at the funeral, he didn't miss the way she flinched and pulled away. The wince of pain that crossed her face when he gently rubbed her arm, asking her if she was ok, didn't go unnoticed by him either. It was later, at the dinner when he cornered her and demanded to know what was going on. Not being able to hold the secret in any longer, she broke down sobbing and told him everything. It was decided that night, she would return to Seattle, live in her mother's house and continued her residency at Seattle Grace. It took all his strength to let her and Maddie broad the plan back to North Carolina and he called a couple times a day to check on them.

Honestly, he was scared that she wouldn't return to Seattle but the fear eased when she started asking for his help arranging everything so when they showed up, Maddie could feel at ease. He found a good school, close to the hospital and her house, he let the painter in so they could repaint the entire house before they came. He even offered to let the mover's in, so the house would be set up when they arrived. She merely mumbled something about not being able to pack until the day before she left. Not wanting to raise any suspicion. He didn't push the subject any further and told her told call once she arrived at the house.

"What time are the mover's suppose to be at the house?" he asked

She looked down at the phone in her hand before saying "In an hour."

"Well, let me give you a quick tour of the hospital before you leave."

Meredith nodded as she followed him out the door. She ignored the curious looks she was getting from everyone they passed as the walked around the hospital. He made a quick introduction to Dr. Bailey, who looked unimpressed. They finally arrived at the front door and he reached out, putting his hand on her shoulder, giving her a gently squeeze.

"You ready for this, Meredith?" he asked softly

"I'm ready to get on with my life. A fresh start for Maddie and me." she said giving him a slight nodded.

"Well, then I'll see you at eight." he said sticking out his hand for her to shake it.

They had already discussed not reveal the fact that they have known each other pretty much her entire life. She wanted people to judge her on how she performed as a doctor before she let it out that she knew the Chief on a personal level. She was going to have a hard enough time once people learned she was a Grey.

"Thank you" she said shaking his hand, sending him a smile.

"A.M. Dr. Grey." he called out to her before she walked through the doors.

She let out a small laugh as she turned and nodded her head. Walking outside, the smile only got bigger when she saw the sun shine again. _Who says you can't go home? _She thought as she walked towards her car.


	2. Unexpected Comapny

A/N: Thank you for the reviews: eddielova09, ange87, Maureen, superficialycynic, roots19 and redheadsaremorefun. I love reading the feed back and I'm glad you like the story so far…

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you know from the show. Maddie, yeah she belongs to me

Just a little warning, this story is un-beta. All mistake are mine and I apologize a head of time.

**Warning:** A friend of mine read this chapter and said I should warn you about the flashback. So there, I warned you. You get a little glimpse into Meredith more recent past and it gets a little violent. Also, to warn you that it is a little graphic. Nothing to bad, I've read more graphic stories, But yeah, so it's just the flashback. You'll clearly be able to tell where it starts and where it ends, if that's not your cup of tea and you wish to skip it.

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**Unexpected Company**

Meredith was laying in her bed, her back to the door, staring at her bedroom wall. She didn't need to look at her alarm clock, she knew she didn't have to be up for another fifteen minutes but she couldn't seem to fall back asleep either. Today was the first day of the week from hell. Now, many people would tell her not to have such a grim out look on things but Meredith has been through this before and she knew it was going to take at least a week before working in the hospital didn't look so grim. Well, that's how it went when she started her internship in North Carolina.

It only took an hour for people to start asking about her mother and she tried to lie at first saying she didn't know an Ellis Grey and they may be related some where way, way down the line. That only blew up in her face when an attendee sarcastically told her how great it was to be able to work with Ellis Grey's daughter in front of the other interns. Thus, began the week from hell and she really wasn't looking forward to a repeat. The floor creaking in the hallway caused Meredith to roll over and face the door. Within seconds, it slowly started to open and Maddie peeked inside.

"Hey Munchkin." Meredith whispered "What are you doing up?"

Maddie walk towards the bed as Meredith lifted the blanket so she could climb in. She waited until she felt Meredith's arm pull her closer to her before saying in a trembling voice "Bad dream."

Meredith's eye's shot open. She's been awake for at least an hour, staring at the wall and didn't hear Maddie cry out for her. Sitting up on her elbow, She made sure she was looking Maddie in the eye before asking "Oh Honey, why didn't you wake me up?"

Maddie immediately broke eye contact and shrugged her shoulders. Realization hit Meredith like a ton of brick's.

_~ Flashback ~_

_Meredith let out a soft moan as he left a trail of kisses from her mouth to her neck. It wasn't a real moan. She hadn't felt anything close to pleasure from this man in months but she learned the consequences of not faking it, a long time ago._

"_I've missed you, baby." he whispered in her ear._

"_Mmm, me too." _

_Relief washed over her when she felt him smile against her neck. Relief should be the last thing she should feel in this position. A man lying on top of her, his hand under her shirt slowly traveling towards her breast, sucking on her neck, nibbling every so often. She knew there be a mark. There was always a mark. Pleasure, that's what she should be feeling. It's been so long since she felt something pleasurable. _

"_Oh God…" she moan as his hand finally made contact with her breast, simultaneously rolling her nipple between his fingers and biting down on her neck. Yeah, she's gotten good at faking it._

"_You like that, Mer?" he asked huskily_

"_Mmm hmm." she replied as she arced her back. _

_Truthfully, she was trying her hardest not to vomit at the moment. Two more weeks, she told herself She could endure the torture for two more weeks. She's been trying her hardest not to piss him off since they returned from Seattle. He's been on edge and she didn't like the way he's been acting towards Maddie. He's never laid a hand on her daughter but that didn't mean he wouldn't and he's been blowing up at her lately for no reason._

_Tear sprung to her eyes when she felt his hand abandon her breast and travel south. She didn't want to have sex with him and it was getting hard and hard to do it. Each time she felt his hands on her, her skin would crawl. Looking at him now, she had no idea how or why she ever fell for him in the first place. She hated this man on top of her. _

_He tugged at the string holding her pajama pant's in place. Crashing his lips to hers, he hooked his fingers on the waistband and pulled them down her legs, along with her underwear. He's never been a fan of foreplay, unless it was him getting pleasured, of course. At first, it bothered Meredith. Sometimes, without foreplay, she wouldn't find her release but as time went on, she was glad, wanting to get it over as soon as possible. He tossed her pants over his shoulder before standing up and pulling his own off._

"_Mommy!" Maddie's scream broke through the quiet night._

"_Ignore her." he said as she climbed on top of her_

"_I can't-"_

"_Ignore her." he demanded this time "We're in the middle of something. She'll go back to sleep, she's fine."_

_Meredith wanted to protest, she wanted to scream that her daughter was more important then what they were about to do. But the look in his eye stopped her and she merely nodded._

"_Good girl." he said, grinning._

_He roughly grabbed the back of her knee's, spreading her leg's far enough apart that she yelped in pain. _

"_Condom." Meredith suddenly said, putting her hands on his lower stomach to stop him from entering her. She was on the shot, the pill was to much work. She always forgot to take it but still, she didn't want to take any chances._

"_No." he said as he grin grew even wider "We're not using condom's anymore. I think it's time we try for a baby. One of our own." _

_She felt the vomit rise in her throat. She'd never have a child with him. She had to think of something fast. _

"_MOMMY!" Maddie called out again. Meredith could tell she was sobbing now and she heard a door creak open. Her eyes immediately focused on his face to see if he heard it to. _

"_It's time that little brat learns not to interrupt us." he growled as he got off the bed._

"_NO!" Meredith screamed, jumping up from the bed. She quickly found her pant's and pulled them on as he yanked open the bedroom door. Following him out into the hallway, she looked at Maddie, who was standing a couple of feet in front of her door. _

"_Madison honey, go in your room." she said softly but gave her a look, letting her know how serious she was. She knew what her next action would cause but she needed to get his attention back on her. So, she reached out and grabbed his arm, spinning him around so they were facing each other and braced herself._

"_Bitch!" he hissed as he reached up and slapped her, across the face, with the back of his hand "Never put your fucking hands on me."_

"_Mommy." Maddie cried out as Meredith fell to the floor._

"_Madison, get in your room." Meredith said as she scrambled to get back on her feet "NOW!"_

_Maddie listened and ran back into her room. Meredith felt relief wash over her when she heard the door shut. It vanished when she felt his hand wrap around her neck, slamming her into the wall. _

"_Never," he paused, tighten his hold on her neck, inching closer to her face "Never correct me in front of her again. She need's to learn to stay in her room at night. She get's you all day. At night, you're mine."_

_Meredith knew Maddie had heard every word he just said. It wasn't like he was trying to keep his voice down. There was no reason to. Sure they lived in an apartment building but on the top floor, in a corner, with the apartment below them vacant. Had been since they moved in three months ago._

"_GOT IT!" he yelled when she didn't respond right away, tighten his grip even more._

_Meredith couldn't breath let alone talk. Her nails dug at his hands, trying to get him to loosen his grip. Finally, she nodded her head. He instantly let go and she fell to the floor, grasping for air._

"_Getting a little braver, baby." he said kicking her lightly in her hip "Don't let it happen again. Now, get up. It's time to teach you a lesson."_

_She didn't say anything as she rubbed her neck, trying to ease the pain. Suddenly, he reached down and roughly grabbed her by the arm, helping her to her feet. He pushed her inside the room, slamming the door shut behind them._

_~ END ~_

Meredith instantly reached over Maddie to turn the lamp on beside the bed. Resting her back against the headboard, she pick her up, setting her down in her lap so they were looking at each other. Maddie didn't hold her gaze very long before she buried her head in her neck and Meredith's eyes filled with tears when she felt one of Maddie's fall to her neck.

Taking a deep breath to try and delay the tears from falling, Meredith gently pushed Maddie away so they were, once again, face to face, saying "Maddie, I know…I know you've seen and heard some…very bad things. But no matter what's happen I want you to know that you can come to me anytime you want. No matter what time of day or night it is, if you needed me, come get me or call out for me."

Maddie looked down, playing with the button's on her shirt. Meredith dipped her head down so she would look at her.

"How long have you been having bad dreams?"

Maddie didn't look down this time but she, once again, just shrugged her shoulder. Judging from her reaction, Meredith knew it had been a while.

"Munch, why didn't you tell me?"

"Because he'd hurt you again!" Maddie exclaimed before her eyes went wide and she put her hands over her mouth, like she had just told a secret she wasn't supposed to tell.

This time, Meredith couldn't stop the tear from falling down her cheek. Pulling Maddie to her chest, she kissed the top of her head before whispering "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, Maddie."

And they stayed that way until the alarm went off causing them to both jump. A smile crossed Meredith's face when Maddie let out a little giggle. Hitting the snooze button, Meredith looked at Maddie and wiped the tears off her cheeks.

"You know I'd do everything in my power to make sure no one ever hurts you, right?"

Maddie nodded her head, if she's learned anything from the things she has witnessed, it was that her mom would protect her, no matter what.

"I don't want him to come back." she said in a small voice.

Meredith didn't know what to say. She knew she wasn't going to allow that man back into their life but she couldn't guarantee he wouldn't show up. It's not like she left a note saying where she went and he didn't know she was from Seattle, he thought she was from Boston. But you could find anything out about anyone if you looked hard enough on the internet.

"I won't let him hurt you." that she could guarantee.

"Or you." Maddie said in a serious tone.

"Or me."

"Promise." Maddie said sticking her pinky out.

Meredith hooked her pinky with Maddie's, saying "Promise."

The alarm went off again and this time Meredith shut it off.

"Alright Munch, as much as I would love to lay in bed with you all day, I have to go to work and you have to go to school. So we have to get ready. We can't be late today."

**********************************************************************************************************************

Meredith had been staring at the silver door knob for a couple of minutes now. She was standing outside the resident locker room but she couldn't seem to bring herself to open the door. After this morning's wake up call, she had been distracted, not having time think about what was going to happen when she arrived at work But now, Maddie was at school and she needed to changed into her scrubs. No one had tried to leave the locker room since she'd been standing there and she wasn't to sure if there was even anybody in there.

Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the door knob and walked in before she could talk herself out of it again. The conversation stalled and four pairs of eyes immediately focused on her. Two men and two women, one of them, Meredith recognized, as the rude women from yesterday. Nodding her head slightly, she started walking towards her locker, which was on the other side of the two men. She didn't miss the eye roll from the rude women as she walked through the group.

"Cristina!" the blonde exclaim as she pasted.

"What?"

Meredith ignored them as she opened her locker. She placed all her belongings inside before pulling off her sweater. When she got out of the shower this morning, she noticed the yellowish bruise on her upper arm. It wasn't very dark anymore and it would be completely gone in a few days but she still put on a long-sleeved shirt underneath her sweater to avoid any questions. She pulled her scrub shirt over her head before pulling down her jeans. She was completely dressed before she turned around to see all four eyes on her still. The blonde was smiling at her, the rude women looked unimpressed while the two guys openly stared.

"Hi, I'm Izzie Stevens," the blonde said "This is Alex Karev, George O'Malley and the bitch is Cristina Yang."

"Hey." Cristina protested

"Meredith." was all she said, once again giving them a slight nod.

They noticed that she didn't say a last name. Unless of course Meredith was her last name but they highly doubted that. Izzie was about to ask when Dr. Bailey burst through the door.

"I see you decided to show up on time today, Dr. Grey." Dr. Bailey said sending a brief look in Meredith's direction before looking at everyone else. "I'm sure Dr. Stevens has already made introduction, so you should all know Dr. Grey is the newest resident to join Seattle Grace. If she would have showed up for the meeting yesterday, you all would have had a chance to talk to her. Get to know her, that being the entire reason for the meeting. Now is not the time to try and get to know her. You have interns waiting outside. Let's get to work people."

And with that Dr. Bailey disappeared through the door, just as fast as she had appeared. Four pair's of eyes immediately focused on Meredith again. Only this time, they all had that look on their face. The look that said _'how lucky were you'_. She knew it was only a matter of time now before someone brought up her mom. She quickly stepped towards the door.

"Dr. Grey?" Alex asked "So the rumors were true."

"Alex!" Izzie exclaimed sending Meredith an apologetic smile.

Meredith ignore both the comment and Izzie as she rushed out the door before anything else could be said only to come face to face with a group of interns. She stop suddenly and it took a minute but she finally pointed at herself and said "Dr. Grey."

All the intern's looked at each other before looking at her confused.

"Dr. Grey?" she heard from behind her. She spun around to come face to face with a rather handsome man. He looked a little to old to be an intern or a resident for that matter but Meredith just nodded her head. It wasn't her place to judge anyone.

"Dr. Shepherd," he said with a smile.

She knew that name, having heard it from Richard. Not knowing what else to say, she repeated "Dr. Grey."

He laughed lightly before nodding his head towards the end of the hallway, saying "You're with me."

She gave him a confused look but followed anyway. At least it was an escape from the other resident's for a while. He laughed a little harder when he saw the look on her face.

"I thought you would like to assisted me in surgery today." he explain

************************************************************************************************************************

Mark walked through the busy hallways of Seattle Grace, discreetly listen to the interns whisper behind him. They were talking about none other then Dr. Grey. He had yet to meet the mysterious resident but it seemed like that's all he's heard about today. When he first arrived, it was Derek who brought her up. Telling him she was the daughter of Ellis Grey and he was taking her into surgery this morning to see if she inherited any of her mom's skills.

He blamed it on his curiosity when the Richard suddenly showed up next to him while he watched her and Derek from above. He try to check her out but it wasn't so easy with her bent over an operating table, elbows deep in someone's stomach. Her hair was pulled up, hidden by a surgical cap, her face covered by a mask but yet, her eye's seem to stand out to him. He had seen enough women in that amount of scrubs to know that she had a pretty decent figure hidden. It was when he ask Richard what, for the third time in a row, that the chief's face turned serious and told him Meredith was off limits before walking out of the room.

A smile crossed Mark's face as he turned his attention back to the OR. The idea of her being off limits just seem to add fuel to the infatuation he had with her. An infatuation that was coming on to quickly as it was. That and now he knew her name was Meredith. He's never had a Meredith before. Well, from what he could remember. He took off out of the room when he saw them exiting the OR, wanting to catch her before she disappeared again. Ok, so she was off limit's but that didn't mean he couldn't introduce himself. After all, they would more then likely have to work together someday.

When he made it to the room where she should have been, he came face to face with Derek and only Derek. Who, by this time, was holding his stomach because he was laughing so hard at Mark's not so graceful entrance into the room. Mark pull on his lab coat, as if to straiten himself out and mumbling something under his breath as he went to push the door open to leave. It was then, that Derek told him she had been paged followed by a good luck.

After thirty minutes of 'not looking' for her, he gathered his interns for the day and went to make his rounds. For the past ten minutes they haven't stop talking about the mysterious Meredith Grey. Mark like to believe he knew women pretty well and judging by the way these two were going on and on about her, they were pretty jealous. He knew they weren't paying attention to anything going on around them. That's why one of them nearly ran into him when he suddenly stop. Looking past him he heard one let out a groan when she saw the reason for his abrupt stop.

There she stood, leaning against the counter, looking down at the file open in front of her. She rolled her neck back in forth before reaching up with one hand and rubbing the back of it. Her other hand held a pen as she chewed on the end of it.

"Quick," he suddenly said turning around to face the interns "You had to skip breakfast and lunch. You've just got out of a 5 hour surgery and only have five minutes to spare. What do you grab from the vending machine?" he finished walking between them on his way to the nearest vending machine, knowing this womenl had a habit of disappearing. He gave them five seconds to answer before saying "If this was surgery, in the five seconds you've sat and thought about the answer, your patience could have die and you still haven't answered me."

"A bag of chips."

"A candy bar."

"No, no, a power bar." one answered causing the other to nodded her head.

"A power bar?" he questioned as he pulled out his wallet. Looking through the glass, he noticed three different kinds. He looked back to the interns and pointed at the machine, asking "What one?"

"E5." one answered, immediately this time.

He nodded as he put some money into the machine. He pushed the appropriate buttons and wait until the power bar fell to the bottom. He picked it up and walked around the interns without saying another word. A smirk crossed his face as he approached the counter.

"You did pretty good in surgery," he said "Junior."

Meredith glance at the annoying man out of the corner of her eye "Did you just call me junior?"

"You're Meredith Grey, right?"

Meredith nodded her head, without looking up.

"Daughter of Ellis Grey?"

Once again, she merely nodded her head wondering where he was going with this.

"So, you're a junior."

Meredith rolled her eyes thinking Maddie could come up with a better line. "You seem to know a lot about me."

Mark shrugged his shoulders, the smirk never wavering "I know a few thing."

"Oh yeah, like what?" she asked not once taking her eyes off the file in front of her.

"Like you're Ellis Grey's daughter."

"You've already pointed that out."

She heard him laugh a little as her felt her personal space being invaded. Leaning towards her ear, he whispered "I've never seen anyone make a pair of scrubs look as sexy as they do on you."

Meredith finally looked up and stared at the wall in front of her for a few seconds before she turned and looked at him. His breath got caught in his throat for a second when he finally came face to face with her. Not missing a beat, he pushed himself off the counter, with a smirk on still planted on his face as she let out a little laugh.

"Seriously, does that work?" Meredith said. He could help but smile wider when her eye's seem to darken as her anger raised "I've learn a lot about you, Mark Sloan. I've heard all about your little conquests. And I'm telling you right now, you're wasting your time. I'm immune to your charm. It's not going to work on me."

Meredith didn't give him a chance a reply. She immediately turned her attention back to the file in front of her, thinking he would walk away. It unnerved her when he didn't move an inch and a she heard a chuckle escape.

"You want to grab some lunch?" he suddenly asked.

She narrowed her eyes as she met his face again, wondering what he didn't understand about what she had just said.

"I'll take that as a no." he laughed setting the power bar in front of her "Wouldn't want you to pass out on your first day. There's already enough talk going around, if you know what I mean." he finished nodded his head over his shoulder.

He turned and started to walk away as she looked past him. Two intern's stood behind him, glaring at them, whispering back in fourth to each other. As soon as he was facing them, they stopped and waited for him to pass before following him down the hallway.

"Wait." Meredith suddenly called out causing all of them to turn and look at her, along with a few other people. She grabbed the power bar off the counter as she jogged towards the interns "I'm sure one of you two fetched this so, you can have it."

When neither intern reach for it, she grabbed one of their hands, making her take it. She gave Mark a sweet smile before saying "It's not just me people like to talk about."

And with that she walked way with a smile on her face. Satisfied with getting the last word.

***********************************************************************************************************************

Meredith walked towards her front door exhausted. Maddie was perched on her hip, talking about her new daycare, which Meredith had dropped her off at after she picked her up from school, having a late lunch with her daughter before heading back to work. She nodded her head, muttering oh yeah or that's cool, Munch, every so often so she wouldn't be accused of ignoring Maddie as she struggled to unlock the front door. As soon as the door was open, Maddie wiggled to get out of her mothers grasp and ran up the stairs, heading towards her room.

Meredith kicked her shoes off before walking in to the living room and let out a groan, clasping onto the couch. She looked around, taking in all the boxes and tried to talk herself into getting up and unpacking what was left. Instead, she found herself resting her head against the back of the couch and her eyes drifted shut.

There wasn't much left to unpack. After the mover's left yesterday, Meredith unpacked Maddie's room first, want her to have some sense of normalcy before she went to pick her up from school. The rest of the night was spent unpacking her room along with the bathroom all the while keeping an eye on Maddie, too. Needless to say, once Maddie was sleeping peacefully in her room, Meredith clasped on her bed.

All that was really left was the kitchen and all the little knick-knacks that made a house feel homey. And after the ten hour shift she just put in at the hospital, she really didn't feel like hanging picture or putting away pots and pans. She swore she could already hear the hammer banging the nail into the wall.

"Mommy, someone's at the door." Maddie giggle from behind her.

Meredith eyes shot open and she heard it again. Someone was defiantly knocking at the door. She turned her head just in time to see Maddie reaching for the door knob.

"Madison, wait." she called out, jumping up from the couch, stubbing her toe on the leg of the coffee table in the process. "Ouch, damn it. Madison, don't op-"

"Papa Richard." Maddie shrieked cutting off Meredith.

She let out a sigh of relief when she heard Richard laugh and dropped to the floor, pulling off her sock to examine her foot.

"I don't think you're suppose to be answering the door." Richard said as Maddie jumped into his arms.

Maddie gave him a kiss on the cheek before wrapping her arms around his neck, saying "I missed you, Papa Richard."

Richard laughed as he looked down at Meredith who rolled her eyes with a smile on her face.

"That door should be locked." he lectured

"I think I broke my toe." Meredith muttered in respones, dropping her gaze back to her foot.

"That doesn't change the fact that the door should be locked."

Meredith stood up and limped over to him, giving him a kiss on the cheek before limping towards the kitchen, calling over her shoulder "Then turn around and lock it."

Richard shook his head as he turned his attention back to Maddie.

"Want to see my room." Maddie asked

He laughed as he put her down, saying "Lead the way."

She reached out and took his hand, pulling him towards the stairs. Stopping suddenly, she turned around and said "Papa Richard, you didn't lock the door."

"Good girl, Munchkin." Meredith called out.

She laughed when she heard the chain rustle before the sound of foot step's and Maddie's voice traveled up the stairs. She started making a pot of coffee, the one thing she had unpacked from the boxes in the kitchen, as one of Maddie's giggles broke through the silence. A smile crossed Meredith face. A plus of moving back to Seattle meant Maddie would see _her_ Papa Richard more.

About eight years after Ellis and Richard ended their affair and went their separate ways, Meredith ran in to him, outside a 18 and older dance club, in Manhattan. She was only fourteen at the time. To make a long story short, he eventually made her take him to the hotel her mother and her were staying at. They were in town so Ellis could attend a conference. Ever since that night, no matter how many time's she hung up the phone or yelled and screamed at him, saying she hated him, that he wasn't her father, that he had no right to butt into her life the way he did, he stuck around. He had always felt somewhat responsible for Ellis packing up Meredith and moving her clear across the country which resulted in Meredith losing all contact with her father. So, in some crazy way he tried to fill the void as much as he could. When he lived in Manhattan, Ellis would call ever so often when Meredith was to much to handle and he would call her or if he could arrange it, he would fly to Boston or where ever Meredith was at the time and play the father roll. He didn't really think it helped much but Meredith would tell you different.

Adele, Richard's wife, admitted year's later that she always knew about the affair and his 'secret trip's' to play daddy to Meredith. After that, all contact stopped untill a rainy night in March of 2001, when Meredith showed up on the Webber's doorstep, that night everything changed. Richard was at the hospital but Adele was home. She was shocked to see a visible pregnant Meredith Grey standing on her doorstep but no the less, ushered her into the house out of the cold. They had never met face to face but she knew what Meredith looked like and even if she didn't, the resembles to her mother was undeniable.

Meredith wasn't sure why she did it but she broke down and told Adele everything. That she as pregnant, a result of a drunken one night stand, how her mother told her she was going to be a horrible mother to her child and she just get ride of it, that it would ruin her career. It broke Adele heart when Meredith turned to her, tear's pouring down her face and said _"I know he's your husband and I have no right to be here but he's the closest thing I have to a dad and I really need him, right now."_

Adele and Meredith never spoke or saw each other after that night but things retuned to normal, if not better, between Meredith and Richard. He was there for her and Maddie grew up knowing him as Papa Richard. He would call all the time, send gift's on their birthday's and Holiday's. Even flew out every so often to see them.

"You were pretty impressive in the OR today." Richard said as he walked into the kitchen

"So I've heard." she muttered as she poured a cup of coffee.

"You've heard?" Richard repeated as he declined the cup she offered him "From who?"

He was pretty sure he knew and he couldn't stop the anger that started to boil inside him. He told him she was off limits.

Meredith laughed at the look on his face. She'd seen that look a couple of time. Always when he was trying to 'protect' her.

"I think you already know." she finally said.

"Dr. Sloan is a great doctor and a pretty decent guy when he want's to be but he wouldn't be good for you or Maddie, Meredith."

"Don't worry, I've already been warned. Well, not really warned but I've heard things." she said through a yawn.

He nodded, not quite sure if he should take her word before looking down at his watch, saying "I should get going. I just wanted to stop and check in on you two. I figured Maddie wouldn't be making an appearance at the hospital anytime soon and I would be in trouble if I didn't stop and see her soon."

"I was going to invite you over once the house was in order." Meredith laughed before calling up the stairs "Munch, Papa Richards leaving."

"Wait!" Maddie yelled "I'm coming."

"You have a fan." Meredith laughed

"The feeling mutual." Richard smile as Maddie jumped into his arms.

She kissed him on the cheek again before giving him a tight hug, saying "Bye, Papa Richard."

"Bye, Maddie."

Meredith open the door and gave him a kiss on the cheek only to hear a man burst out laughing. Richard and Meredith were shocked to see who stood on the other side of the door and Maddie hide behind her mother's leg's, pecking around at the unexpected company.


	3. Little Mer

A/N: Thank you for the reviews: superficialycynic, Future Mrs Morgan, Mrs. Karin Flack, ange87, eddielova09, Maureen, Emma, Nikki taylor05, spree7101990, JV, buddies and Extraho.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you know from the show. Maddie, yeah she belongs to me.

Just a little warning, this story is un-beta. All mistake are mine and I apologize a head of time.

**Little Mer**

Meredith stared at the unexpected visitors on the other side of the door. She knew from the smirk on the guy's face that they'd witnessed the innocent kiss she place on Richard's cheek but to them, it might not have looked so innocent. They didn't know about their relationship, which meant they would automatically think there was more to it then the father/daughter relationship it really was. The slight pinch she felt on the back of her thigh brought her back to reality. _Maddie_, she thought. Not knowing what else to do, she reach over and grabbing the edge of the door before slamming it shut in their faces.

"Oh, no you don't." Richard said as he reached for the door "A rumor going around the hospital that we're having an affair is the last thing either of us need."

"But-"

"No buts." he said opening the door to see them still stand there, looking shocked. "Explain this." he ordered before pushing past the people and walking towards his car.

Meredith glared at him, even though he never once looked back, until his car pulled away from the curb and disappeared from sight. Coward, she wanted to scream after him. He could have stayed and helped explain but no, he hops in his car and get's the hell out of there as fast as he can.

Maddie had stepped in front of her mom, her curiosity overcoming her shyness and she looked up at the group in front of her. Her Papa Richard seem to know them and she figured her mom knew them to, even if she looked like she didn't want them here. After she carefully examined them from afar, she came to the conclusion that they weren't scary people and smile.

"Hi, I'm Maddie." she announced causing five different pairs of eyes to focus on her.

"Hi, I'm Izzie." she said kneeling down so she was eye level with Maddie, giving her a smile "Well, my name is Isobel but everyone calls me Izzie."

Maddie's eyes went wide and she clapped her hands together, exclaiming "My name Madison but everyone call's me Maddie. Except Mommy, she calls me munchkin."

Meredith, once again found them staring at her. Any and all questions they had about who the little girl was, went out the widow when Maddie pointed behind her. Meredith was finding it hard to breath. This was all to much to handle and now her daughter was bonding with the bubbly blonde from this morning, the rude women and one of the guys, Alex she remembered, shared a look before looking at her like she was a slut while the other guys eyes traveled between Meredith and Maddie, like he couldn't believe that was her kid.

"What are you doing here?" Meredith snapped

"Mommy," Maddie gasped "That's not nice."

Meredith held back the groan as the other four tried, unsuccessfully, not to laugh when the young child corrected her mother. She picked Maddie up and placeing her on her hip, moving out of the way so they could walk in.

When nobody moved, Maddie whispered loudly "You have to invite them in."

Meredith resisted the urge to roll her eyes, not wanting to send Maddie into another rant about being nice and said "Well, are you coming in or not?"

"Mommy that's no-"

"Madison." Meredith warned, giving her a look before looking back at their guest.

"It looks like we caught you at a bad time. We'll see you at the hospital tomorrow." Izzie said as she stood up.

"Speak for yourself, I want to know what's going on between her and the Chief." Alex said walking into the house.

The others followed him in, Izzie glaring at the back of his head, as Meredith shut the door behind them. Once again the group fell into an uncomfortable silence. Maddie let out a little giggle when she met George's eye and hided her face in her mothers shoulder. Meredith couldn't resists rolling her eyes at this. Her daughter being her mini-me had it's up's as well as it's downs.

"Make yourself comfortable. We'll be right back." she said walking upstairs. When Maddie let out another giggle, Meredith whispered "Knock it off you little flirt."

Once they were out of sight, Maddie looked at her mom asking "What's a flirt?"

"You." Meredith said poking her in the stomach.

Maddie giggled, still not sure what a flirt really was. They walked into her room and Meredith sat her down on the bed before going over to her dresser, pulling out a pair of pajamas. Maddie watched with amusement as her mother rushed around the room, letting out another giggle when she finally approached her.

"Mommy, I have to take a bath first." she pointed out when Meredith started to dress her in her pajamas.

"Not to tonight, Munch. We have company. You'll have to take a shower in the morning."

Maddie crossed her arms over her chest as a slight pout came to her lips. She didn't like to take shower, let alone take them in the morning. She knew that meant she had to get up earlier then she usually did.

"I want to take one tonight."

"Maddie you can't, there's people down stairs."

Maddie added the puppy dog eyes to her pout and looked up at her mom. Meredith let out a sigh, knowing she had just lost the battle and said "Fine, you can take one now but we have to hurry."

Maddie was off the bed, running towards the bathroom before Meredith could even finish what she was saying. Shaking her head, she followed behind the five year old. Making it the quickest bath Maddie ever had, Meredith slipped her shirt over Maddie's head and turned to grab brush off the counter when she heard the door open. Before she could form any words, she heard her little feet taking her down the stairs as fast as they could.

Meredith was just starting to come down the stairs when she heard Maddie exclaim "Hey, that's mine."

"Maddie." Meredith said was he walked into the living room to see Maddie standing in front of the tv, with her arms on her hips, glaring at Alex. "You have to share."

Alex turning and looked at Meredith shocked. Gesturing towards the game system, he asked "This is hers?"

"Well, I don't play that thing. Come here Maddie, I have to brush your hair."

"But she play's?" he asked still not believing, Maddie, a little girl no older the five or six, could actually play the video game system.

"Sure, why not." Meredith replied "It's not like she play, plays. I got the cheats for her and she just races around the track."

"No way." he said shaking his head.

Meredith let out a little laugh as she started brushing Maddie's hair, saying "It's not that hard to hold down a button and steer with the other thing. She's pretty good. She beat's me all the time."

"Mommy, braids." Maddie interrupted, holding up to hair ties.

Meredith made a face. Maddie had been on this braid kick ever since she picked her up from school yesterday. Apparently, one of the girls in Maddie's class had her hair braided and Maddie now wanted her hair in two braids, going down on each side of her head. Which wasn't a problem expect Meredith couldn't French braid hair.

"Oh let me." Izzie said seeing Meredith's face "I haven't braided someone hair since high school."

There was no way in hell, even if she wanted to, she could say no when Maddie turned around, eyes sparkling, asking "Can she, Mommy?"

"Oh, by all mean." Meredith said.

Maddie let out a little squeal as she jumped over Cristina legs so she could stand in front of Izzie.

"I need a drink." Cristina muttered.

"There's some tequila in the kitchen." Meredith said, clasping into the chair.

Cristina turned and looked at Meredith, trying to figure out if she was being serious.

"I haven't unpacked any glasses yet so you'll have to drink it from the bottle." Meredith encouraged, giving her a look that said she wished could join her.

"Ok." Cristina said, getting up and walking towards, what she hoped, was the kitchen.

"But are you any good?" Alex asked, when silence engulfed the room.

"What?" Meredith and Izzie said at the same time.

Once again, Alex gestured towards the game system, reminding them what he was talking about before looking back at Meredith, asking "Are you any good?"

"No, not really."

"Well, then how do you know she's good? She hasn't had any real competition."

Meredith shook her head, not really understanding why this was so important to him She looked up at the clock before saying "Play her then. She has enough time before she has to go to bed."

"Ok." Alex said with determination in his voice.

"Hold on," Izzie said when Maddie went to move away from her "I'm almost done."

Maddie waited until Izzie announced she was done before taking the other controller out of George's hand, giving him a smile causing Meredith to groan.

"What'd I miss?" Cristina asked when she sat back down on the couch next to Izzie.

"Karev challenging a four year old."

"I'm five." Maddie exclaimed

"Five year old." George corrected himself

"So he might have a chance at actually winning then." Cristina said, taking a drink before offering the bottle to Meredith. After all, it was her tequila.

"Mommy, watch." Maddie exclaimed when she took the lead.

"Good job, Munch." Meredith said.

She made sure Maddie attention was on the tv before taking the bottle from Cristina. She took a big gulp before handing it back to her. Cristina shot her an impressive look before take a drink. They continued like this, making sure Maddie wasn't paying attention before passing the bottle off.

"So, you and the Chief." Alex stated.

"It's not like that." Meredith said making a face "He's like a dad to me."

Alex paused the game, causing Maddie to protest and everyone eyes shot to her. "So, it's true, then?"

"What?"

"Chief Webber got it on with Ellis Gr-"

"Hey!" Meredith exclaimed motioning towards Maddie.

"Grandma and Papa Richard were friends. Right Mommy?" Maddie said as she un-paused the game.

"Hey," Alex said, quickly turning his attention back to the tv "Your kid's a cheater."

"Go a head and tell yourself that if it make's you feel better." Meredith laughed

Alex rolled his eyes, saying "So, is it true?"

Meredith shifted in the chair before nodding her head. She wasn't sure why she didn't tell them to mind their own business but it had been a while since she had adult interaction like this and the tequila made it easier to open up.

"You are going to have it so easy around the hospital." Cristina exclaimed "The Chief is going to favor you, it's already known who your mother is, you have attendee's waiting outside the locker room to take you into surgery and wanting to get in…well, you know."

"See, that's were your wrong. Having a personal relationship with the Chief only causes him to come down harder on me, so he isn't accused of playing favorites, all eyes are on me because of who my mom is and I'm not sure I can live up to everyone standers. As for the attendee situation, well I'm not one to turn down a surgery and the other thing, that's not going to happen."

"That's what you say now but no one can resist McSteamy's charm." Izzie said just as Meredith went to take a drink, causing her to choke on the tequila.

This time it was Maddie who paused the game and looked over at her mom, saying "Put your arms up."

"I'm fin-" She stopped to clear her throat "I'm fine baby. Go back to your game." once she was satisfied that Maddie attention was back on the game she looked over at Izzie, asking "McSteamy?"

"Oh come on you can't say that you don't find that man" Izzie stopped and looked over at Maddie, lowering her voice to a whisper "sexy. You were the talk of the hospital, having both McSteamy and McDreamy sought you out in one day."

"McDreamy?"

"Dr. Shepherd." Cristina clarified reaching over and taking the bottle out of her hand "I have to admit, I would probably have sex with McSteamy. He looks like he'd be able to give a girl a good time."

George let out a groan as Meredith exclaimed "Cristina!"

"What? Bambi can handle it."

"She's not talking about George." Izzie said, nodding her head towards Maddie.

"See, this is why I don't have any friends that have kids. You always have to watch what you say in front of them. You can't drink in front of them. They take the fun out of everything."

By the time she was finished with her rant, Maddie had once again paused the game and was sending her a death glare over her shoulder.

"The kid staring at me." Cristina said reaching over and gripping Izzie's arm "The kid look's like she want's to kill me."

"Maddie honey, go back to your game."

"She doesn't like kids, Mommy." Maddie exclaimed like Meredith didn't hear what Cristina had said.

"She's just joking, Munch." Meredith said sending Cristina a look.

"Yeah, sorry Maddie." Cristina said, hoping she got her name right. She let out a breath when Maddie turned back around to look at the tv and un-paused the game.

"Look," Meredith said sitting up in the chair "I can't give you guy's any family secret. The relationship I had with my mother wasn't like that. She didn't think I had what it took to be a surgeon, let alone one that had the right to be compared to her. So, if that why you came over here tonight, it was a waste of time. Trust me, You have nothing to gain by acting like my friend."

"No offense, but I don't think you can teach me anything I don't already know." Alex said without taking his eye's off the screen. Maddie was beating him and they only had one lap left to go.

Meredith was taken back. Usually, once she gave that little speech, whoever was around left. "Then why are you here?"

"I was told we were going to Joe's." Cristina muttered

Izzie sent her a glare before saying "We wanted to get to know you. We are going to be working together for a while."

"I heard Sloan wanted to…" Alex paused sending a glance at Maddie before saying "Well, yeah. Anyways I figured if I was friends with you, you'd be able to return the favor by getting him to let me scrub in with him once in a while." Alex added

"Us being friends is a favor to me?" Meredith said raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah." Alex said, giving her a smile.

"I won!" Maddie exclaimed "Look Mommy, I won."

"What?" Alex said looking back to the screen to see she had crossed the finish line. "No way. I want a re-match."

Maddie's eyes immediately went to Meredith's face, who was already shaking her head no. "Sorry Munch, but you have to go to bed. Next time."

"Please?" Maddie said

"Not tonight." Meredith said standing up and reaching out her hand.

"Pretty please." Maddie asked, adding puppy dog eyes.

"Aww, she is so cute. She looks just like you." Izzie exclaimed "A little Meredith."

"Nah, to long." Cristina said, shaking her head.

"Little Mer." Izzie said

Cristina nodded her head, wishing Maddie would take her eye's off her. It was making her uncomfortable. "That works."

Meredith shot a confused look at George, who had remained silent for most of the night. He simply shrugged his shoulders, saying "I think they just gave her a nickname."

"Please Mommy." Maddie whined, tugging on Meredith hand "Pretty, pretty please."

"It's getting late Maddie." Alex said standing up "We're probably going to get going, anyway but next time I come over, I expect a re-match."

"Are you really going to come back?"

"Sure, if your mom let's me."

"Can they Mommy? Can they come back?"

At first, Meredith didn't know what to say. She didn't want to let anyone in Maddie's life before she got to know them a little better. But they show up out of no where tonight and now, judging from the look on Maddie face, she knew she wasn't going to have a chance to get to know them. Maddie seem to think she had made some new friends and there was no way Meredith could take that away from her.

"Sure, Munch."

*********************************************************************************************************************

Meredith pushed the down button for the elevator and waited. It had been an exhausting day at the hospital. Shortly after Alex claimed he wanted a re-match, everyone left, only after Maddie gave each one of them a hug much to Cristina's dismay. Meredith finally got Maddie to sleep only to be woken up two hours later by Maddie's scream. Once Meredith calmed her down, reassuring her that everything was ok, Maddie finally fell back to sleep in her bed. The rest of the night was spent getting kicked or slapped, every time Maddie decided to reposition herself in her sleep.

The morning got off to an eventful start when Meredith rolled over to see they had twenty minutes before they had to be out the door. With everything that had happen the night before, she realized she had forgot to set the alarm. Her head started pounding the moment she sat up and she realized then that the tequila might have had something to do with it also. It wasn't like she was trashed. She would never do that unless she knew Maddie was out of the house, in capable and safe hands but it's been so long since she's drank at all that it did give her a slight buzz. The way she burst through the locker room door caused Cristina and George to laugh. Meredith mumbled something under her breath about it being Cristina fault as she changed into her scrubs.

Not only was she being paged every time she turned around but it seemed like she was being punished for something, having to deal with difficult patients all day. One making her thirty minutes late picking up Maddie from school. It broke Meredith's heart when she saw her daughter sitting in a chair in the office, swing her leg's back in forth, waiting for her mom to pick her up. Similar pictures flashed in Meredith's mind of her childhood, instantly bring tears to her eyes. She vowed, the first time she held Maddie in her arms, that her childhood would be nothing like what hers was but yet, here they were.

Maddie didn't seem to be upset. As soon as she saw her mom, she flew into her arms with a big smile on her face asking if they were getting something to eat before she took her to daycare. Meredith took a little extra time at the restaurant before taking Maddie to the daycare and held on a little while longer when giving her a hug. In fact it was Maddie who pulled away, giving her mom a big smile before ordering her to go back to work before Papa Richard got mad.

The elevator dinged and the doors open. Meredith smiled a little when she saw that it was empty and walked on, pushing the main floor button. Not that she was purposely avoiding anyone. All day she had talked with Cristina and Izzie. Talking to Alex and George in passing. They'd seem to understand that she wanted to keep, pretty much everything they had talked about the night before, under the radar. Especially Maddie, not bring any of it up. Cristina and Izzie had asked about her but if someone had over heard they wouldn't have been able to tell who they were asking about and Meredith appreciated that. It had just been a long day and she got called in surgery thirty minutes before her shift was over. It was now going on nine o'clock.

"Three hours." She mumbled to herself "Three hours late. And thirty minutes late picking her up. Way it'd go, Meredith."

She knew the daycare wouldn't mind. She had told them some day's would be like this and they said that's fine. But she couldn't help but feel bad and Maddie being so understanding earlier was rare. Meredith guessed it had something to do with the promise of Alex coming back over to play with her again but now it was passed Maddie's bed time. She knew Maddie ate dinner, the day care serve's dinner at six to all remaining kids but in the seventy- two hours they've been in Seattle, only twenty-three of them were spent with Maddie and of those twenty-three, fourteen were spent sleeping. Meredith let out a groan when the elevator dinged.

"Nice to see you to, Grey." Alex said as he stepped onto the elevator.

"I'm late." she said pushing the main floor button over and over again, hoping to speed up the process.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Tell me, how's Maddie dealing with the fact that she's going to be a big sister?"

Meredith rolled her eye's, saying "I'm late picking her up."

Alex sent her a grin as he reached over and pushed the button for the second floor.

"Hey," she protested "I just told you I was late."

"Relax, the daycare center is on the main floor. You'll be there in a minute."

"She doesn't go to this daycare."

"Right, you're keeping the kid a secret. Doesn't that get exhausting?"

Her only response was to glare at him. He laughed and shrugged his shoulder's as the elevator came to a stop.

"Well, you're already late as it is. What's a few more minutes, right?"

"And I'm going to make sure she knows it was half your fault, I was late."

"Oh yeah, who's else is at fault?" Alex asked as the door's opened.

She didn't have to answer him. He could tell by the way her eye's narrowed at the person on the other side of the door.

"Dr. Karev, Dr. Grey" Mark said, nodding his head at Alex before giving Meredith as smile, stepping in-between them so he could stand behind them "You did pretty good in surgery, Grey."

Meredith mumbled something under her breath causing Alex to laugh as he started to walk off the elevator. She had just confirmed his suspicion on who else was at fault for her being late.

Alex stopped just outside the elevator and turned back to Meredith, asking "How's Friday sound?"

Meredith shot him a confused look and he had to reach out to stop the elevator doors from closing. He pretended not to noticed the look Mark was shooting them and said "Re-match."

"Oh, yeah Friday sounds good."

Alex nodded his head and took his hand off the door. It only took seconds for the door to close and silence engulfed the elevator. Meredith hoped Mark caught on to the fact that she didn't have anything to say to him and she didn't want to hear what he had to say. It was his fault she was running three hours late. He knew she had no interest in plastic surgery, she had pointed that out when he insisted on her taking part in the 'very important surgery' he was about to conduct. She was pissed when she walking into the OR to find out it was simple nose job. By the time they were finished, she had stormed out of the OR, throwing her scrubs in the trash on her way out. She hoped she wouldn't have to see him until the next day, knowing that if he pushed her anymore, she would explode and the light chuckle, that came from behind her, didn't help.

"I don't get it." he started.

Meredith stared a head of her, she knew he was trying to get a reaction out of her and there was no way in hell she was going to give him the satisfaction.

"Here I am, following you around like a lost puppy dog. Hooking you up with great surgeries and you refuse to even have lunch with me. But it seems you've taking a liking to Karev," he paused and made a face before say "And he said re-match which indicates a repeat of something that's already been performed."

Meredith's fist's clenched at her side and she was now biting her tongue. She didn't reply hoping if she ignored him, he would stop talking.

"Unless, of course, thing's between you and Karev aren't like that. Last I heard, he was doing Stevens and seeing how you and Stevens seem to be buddy-buddy and the fact that she never lets him out of her sight, I highly doubt that you're screwing him."

Meredith wasn't sure how it happened but suddenly her back was against the wall of the elevator, Mark's body dangerously close to hers. Her mind screamed to push him away and tell him to stop but she found her body frozen in place as he leaned towards her ear. A shiver spiraled down her spin as he whispered "Which leads me to believe that all the rejections and death glares you send my way are a cover up. Because I'm starting to believe that you want me just as bad as I want you."

A smirk found it's way on to his face when he heard her suck in a breath. He started to lower his head when he got a clear look at what he suspected was a hicky. Suddenly he pulled away and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You got a boyfriend?"

He didn't know why he cared. It's never stopped him before. Hell, he sleep with his best friends wife and he wasn't sure he like the suddenly jealousy he felt as he wait for an answer. Meredith didn't answer, instead her hand instantly went to her neck and she watched as Mark's face darken. From the way she grabbed her neck, he started to think that what he saw wasn't a hicky at all and judging from how fade the bruise was, it was a little over two weeks old.

"You got a boyfriend?" he asked again, this time in a more serious tone.

Meredith let out sigh of relief as the elevator dinged and was passed the door's before they were all the way open. It took Mark a second to realized that she took off but he walked off the elevator and quickly headed out of the building, trying not to draw any attention. By the time he reached the parking lot, she was pulling on to the road.

Mark had been around enough women to know that he should leave this one alone. There was obviously something going on with Meredith and he knew he should turn around and admitted defeat. At the same time, he felt intrigued by this women. No doubt she had a lot of secrets, that much was obvious. His mind screamed at him to walk away but he couldn't. He wanted to get to know Meredith and get his hands on the guy that grabbed her neck so hard that you could still see the bruise from his thumb two week's later.


	4. They've noticed

A/N: Thank you for the reviews: Maureen, superficialcynic, buddy and Amie Rosenberger. They eally do mean a lot to me.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you know from the show. Maddie, yeah she belongs to me.

Just a little warning, this story is un-beta. All mistake are mine and I apologize a head of time.

* * *

_**They've noticed…**_

Meredith and Maddie have been in Settle for a little over a month now and Meredith didn't even wish that it would turn out as good as it has. Cristina, Izzie, Alex and George turned out to be pretty good friends and Maddie adore them, even Cristina ,who tried her hardest not to like the little girl, soon found herself smitten with her. The only kid she would ever like, as Cristina had put it many times.

Izzie was like Maddie's new best friends, not that Meredith mind. It was a nice change to have someone around that was bubbly and happy instead of dark and twisted, like her. And Alex had become like the big brother to the young child. Often accompany Izzie when she would come over to baby-sit Maddie. Playing video games with her and watching sports, which until recently Meredith had no clue that Maddie even liked sports.

Then there was George. It was more then obvious that he was Maddie's first crush. Whenever they were in the same room, Maddie would get this goofy smile on her face and get as close to him as she could. He was always the one she offered to share her snack with or if her and Alex were playing a game, she would take the controller out of Alex's hand and offer it to George. Also, she always requested that it was George to watch her if Izzie couldn't.

The only problem with that was, George seem to have a crush on Meredith. She would always tell people they were crazy, when someone pointed it out to her. That was until Cristina said something. She simply wouldn't let her deny it. It was after that conversation that Meredith decided she need to talk to him. She told him that although she was very flattered that he like her, she wasn't looking for a relationship and wouldn't be for a long time.

Sadly, George took this information like any other man would and stopped coming around, which crushed Maddie and he was avoiding Meredith at the hospital at all cost. It wasn't until Alex cornered George and told him to get his head out off his ass. Just because Meredith didn't like him like that, didn't mean he had to hurt an innocent five year old that thought the world of him. That night, he showed up on Meredith's door step, simply shrugged his shoulders and said he was sorry. Meredith told him he couldn't just walk in and out of Maddie's life like before letting him in and it was worth it, to see Maddie's eyes light up when he walked into the living room. Ever since then, thing's returned to normal.

It was about a week before that the gang started to notice something about Meredith. First it was Izzie. She had dropped a tray and burst out laughing at the way Meredith nearly jumped out of her skin. Meredith brushed it off, saying it just surprised her before walking way. Then it was Alex. He went to put his arm around her shoulder, one day when he walked up behind her and Meredith instantly froze in her place. When he saw the fear that quickly passed through her eye, he pulled his arm off of her and asked if she was okay. Once again, she just brushed it off, saying it had surprised her.

Next was Cristina, she walked into the locker room, ranting and raving about something. She stopped when she saw the way Meredith seem to have backed herself in the corner. This time she didn't make an excuse up, she just pushed pass Cristina saying something about having to get to surgery. Last was George. One day he walked into the kitchen, after finding the front door unlocked, which was unusual and Meredith screamed, dropping the pan in her hand when she turned around and saw him standing there. He laughed at first, until Maddie ran into the kitchen, screaming for him to stay away from her mom. Meredith quickly picked Maddie up, making up some excuse as she pushed him out the front door.

"She pushed you out the door?" Alex asked George as they sat down at a table for lunch.

"Yeah, she said they had to go some where and pushed me out the door. But what was weird was the way Maddie was clinging to her. Like she thought something was going to happen to her."

"Happen to who?" Izzie said sitting down at the table with Cristina.

"Has Grey ever told you guy's why she moved back here?" Alex asked before George could say anything.

"She wanted to move back home." Cristina said before taking a bit out of her sandwich.

"She said that?" George asked

"Well no. But I kinda figured that was why."

"I think she's on the run." Alex said

"What?" Izzie asked "On the run from who?"

"Whoever has her so scared that she jump's at the slightest sound."

"Oh come on. So she's a little jumpy. That doesn't mean she's on the run."

"Okay," Alex said with a nod of his head "How much do you know about her life before she came back to Seattle?"

"Well…" Izzie trailed off looking at Cristina.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"You've spent a lot of time with her, why'd she come home?" Izzie said

"She's never really said. When ever we start to talk about her, she gives vague answers before changing the subject." Cristina answer

"See, she's on the run. But now the question is from who?" Alex said

"Maybe it's Maddie's Dad." George said.

"No, Meredith said Maddie doesn't have a Dad." Izzie said

"The rules of life would tell you that she has a Dad. Maddie couldn't exist if there was no guy involved and from her telling you that, I would say that it's defiantly a possibility."

"I know that." Izzie said, glaring at Alex "Meredith said Maddie was the result of a one night stand. That's why I said Maddie doesn't have a Dad and as far a Meredith is concerned Maddie's hers and no one else's."

"She'd lie about it if that was who she was running from so what you just said makes me believe it even more, that she's hiding from him."

"We don't know that guy's."

"Well, there's always one way to find out." Cristina said causing everyone to look at her "We take her to Joe's and get her so drunk that she tells us what's going on. Drunk people always tell you the truth. Courage in a bottle."

"That would work but you know as well as I do that Meredith isn't going to leave Maddie at the daycare center all night and the only people she'll leave Maddie with is one of us." Alex said before they all looked at George.

"What?"

"Well, you're the only one that has to work early tomorrow." Izzie said

"Cristina has to work in the morning too."

"Yeah but I can work with a hangover, you not so much." Cristina pointed out.

"Fine," George said "I'll offer to watch her but if you find anything out, I want to know."

"God, you a such a girl." Alex said before getting up and walking way.

"What's he mean by that?" George asked confused.

Cristina and Izzie shared a laugh before saying "Don't worry we'll fill you in on everything."

********************************************************************************************************************

"Hey" Izzie said as she walked up beside Meredith, pretending not to notice the way she jumped a little as she hocked their arms together "We've decided you need a night out."

"We?"

"Yup. So, we're taking you to Joe's tonight."

"You know I can't just go out." Meredith said lowering her voice "I have to find a-"

"Already taken care of." Izzie said as Meredith raised an eyebrow at her "George. Be ready by 8" and with that she walked away, leaving a speechless Meredith behind.

Her beeper going off brought her out of her thoughts and she quickly made her way around the corner, neither of them noticing Mark standing in the doorway of an empty room, intrigued about the conversation he had just over heard.

For close to a month now, he's been trying to break down the invisible walls Meredith had built up around her. He's watched her for a far and she had seem to let nearly everyone in except him. It was more then obvious she made fast friends with Izzie, Alex, George and Cristina but she's also seemed to be making friends with Addison and Derek. But when it came to him, she shut herself off complete.

He's tried to ask her to lunch, only to have her turn him down every time. At least the times he could find her but on more then one occasion, he's seen her eating with her friends and even a couple time with Addison and Derek. Every time he requested her or offered her some kind of surgery or consult, she would turn in down or find someone else to do it for her, saying she was busy with something else.

On top of that, the smooth words and macho guy act complete failed when it came to her. Even when he pulled out his best work, she would barely acknowledge him before walking away. He had ran out of idea's and sunk down to the lowest of lows. Pulling out the best friends card, he pretty much blackmailed Derek into find out some information for him. Addison was the one to report back to him, telling him to give up and move on because Meredith wasn't interested. Unbeknown to anyone, this only added fuel to the fire and now, he had an in.

"Hey Shep," he called out as Derek walked by the door "Feel like going to Joe's tonight?"

"Sure." Derek said as they started to walk down the hallway together.

Mark tried to concentrate on what Derek was talking about but the only thing running through his head was why she felt she couldn't go out and what she need to find before she went out.

***********************************************************************************************************************

"You're beautiful, Mommy." Maddie exclaimed when Meredith walked out of the bathroom.

Meredith looked herself over in the mirror before sending a skeptical look in Maddie direction. All she had on was a pair on jeans and a simple black shirt but non the less, she smiled and said "Thanks Munchkin."

Maddie got off the bed and walked towards the dresser, grabbing Meredith bottle of perfume and looking up at her, indicating that she wanted to spray it on her.. She bent down and helped Maddie so she wouldn't go over broad before kissing her softly on the forehead "Are you sure you're going to be okay with George. Because if you want me to stay home, I can."

"Go have fun, Mommy." Maddie said with a giggle "I'll be fine."

Alex had some how convinced Meredith to let him pick Maddie up from her daycare today and he explained, the best he could to a five year old, that her mother need a night out and went over what he wanted her to say if Meredith offered to stay home with her, all the way home. The ten dollars he gave to her helped a little to but Meredith didn't need to know any of that. When the door bell rang, Maddie took off down the stairs and Meredith gave herself the once over in the mirror before making her way downstairs.

"You ready?" Cristina asked impatiently.

"Yeah." Meredith said as she grabbed her jacket, looking over at George "You have my cell phone number and if there an emergency, Richard's number's on the fridge. If you have to get a hold of me and I don't answer, call the bar. And if-"

"Meredith, I've watched her before. We'll be fine." George interrupted

Meredith just nodded her head as bent down to give Maddie a hug. When she pulled away, she said "I'll be home early, okay?"

Maddie nodded her head as Cristina mumble yeah right under her breath causing Izzie to elbow her.

"I love you, Munchkin."

"I love you to, Mommy." Maddie said before kissing her on the cheek.

She stood up and followed everyone out of the house. She waved from the back seat when she saw Maddie and George standing on the porch, waving at her. She didn't know if it was because it had been so long since she actually went out for the night or if it was nerves of leave Maddie home but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen tonight.

_Meanwhile, at the bar…_

"So, are you going to tell me why it was so important we came out tonight?" Derek asked as he sat a beer down in front of Mark.

"I never said it was important. It's just been a long week and I thought a beer sounded nice after work." Mark said, send Derek a glare.

"Right," Derek laughed as he took a sip of his beer "That's why you freak when I tried to back out before I left the hospital."

"I didn't freak out."

"Yes, you did." Addison said, joining the table.

Mark brought his beer to his lips, to stop any smart ass comment and took a drink as his eye's traveled to the door.

"What are you up to?" Addison asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What makes you think I'm up to something?"

"The way you keep watching the door." Addison said, letting him know his little eye movement didn't go unnoticed "So again, what are you up to?"

"Nothing." Mark said as a pretty blonde waitress walked past. Just to prove a point, Mark stood up and started to follow her as Addison let out a groan.

"Oh Mark. I thought I told you to back off."

He immediately turned to look at the door and saw Meredith making her way towards the bar with Izzie, Cristina and Alex in tow. Mark instantly sat back down at the table, bring his beer back up to his lips.

"Alright, so you go us here and she showed up. What are you planning to do about it?" Derek asked

"I really have no idea what you're talking about." Marks said with a smile as she watched them at the bar.

"Two shot's of tequila." Meredith told the bartender as her eyes traveled around the bar. When they landed on a certain table, she said "Make that three."

"That's what I'm talking about Grey." Alex said before ordering a beer.

Cristina and Izzie followed suit and were surprised to see Meredith had already downed hers by the time the bartender had set their drinks down in front of them. Ordering a beer, deciding she should take it easy for a minute, seeing that they just arrived.

Once the beer was placed in front of her, she took a drink before asking "What do you guy want to know?"

Cristina and Izzie looked at each other before stuttering over their responses as Alex laughed before taking a drink of his beer.

"Look, you came up with this entire plan, got George to watch Maddie and brought me to a bar with the intention of getting me drunk. You want to know something, so what is it?"

"Why'd you move back home?" Alex asked getting to the point.

"To be closer to family." Meredith said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Okay, see I really don't believe that because your Mom's lived back here for close to a year but yet, you didn't come home until after she died but I'll let it slid." Alex said

"I wasn't that close with my Mom." Meredith weakly pointed out.

"Okay, fine, whatever. Are you on the run from Maddie's Dad?"

"Cristina!" Izzie exclaimed. Yeah, she knew the plan was to find out what was going on with Meredith but she didn't except Cristina to ask her like that. What stood out even more was the fact that, that question seemed to have hit a nerve.

Taking a long drink of her beer to gather her thought's, she set it down on the bar, picking at the label, saying "I told you, Maddie doesn't have a Dad. It's just us."

None of them pointed out that she didn't deny that she was on the run only that it wasn't from Maddie's Dad. But judging from the look on her face, Izzie quickly changed the subject.

"Where'd you live before you came back home?"

"North Carolina."

"For how long?"

"I moved there about a year before Maddie born."

"Did you have a boyfriend?" Alex said

Again, Meredith seem to instantly tensed up for a second. A quick second but the three of them noticed.

"No." she said quietly "Where's the bathroom?"

Cristina pointed to the back and they watched as she walked away. Once she was out of ear shot, Cristina turned to Izzie, saying "Oh yeah, there's something going on that we don't know."

Alex just shook his head. He was pretty sure he knew what was going on. The sign's were more then obvious and the more he talked to her, the more the puzzle seem to fit together. He pushed his beer aside as his stomach turned because of the thought's that were running wild in his head at what hell not only Meredith could have been dealing with but Maddie to. Cristina and Izzie looked at him confused.

"You can't honestly tell me you don't understand what's going on?" he finally asked them

"And you're telling me, you do for that two second conversation we just had?" Izzie said

"Not just from that. Add it all up. The long sleeved shirt's she constantly wore when she first started, the way she jumps at the slightest sound, how secretive she is. It's like she doesn't want anyone to know what happen before she came to Seattle We've known her for a month now. We should have known, well at least one of you should have known, where she moved from." he paused to take a drink of his beer as Izzie and Cristina digested the information he just laid out on the table. He nodded his head towards the end of the bar, saying "And how about the way she won't let Mark near her."

"Yeah but if what you're saying is true. She would be weary of any guy. Not just Mark." Cristina pointed out.

"Oh she was weary of all of us at first." Izzie said watching as Meredith awkwardly stood by the table Mark, Derek and Addison sat at, rubbing the back of her neck "besides, she isn't attracted to George or Alex."

"And what makes you think she's is to Mark?" Alex asked, slightly offended.

"She's wanted to jump him since the first time she's saw him." Cristina said "I'm surprised you didn't notice that."

"Oh, I noticed." Alex said "I just don't see why that mean she's not into me. I mean I understand George but me. Come on."

Cristina rolled her eyes as Izzie glared at him, saying "Shut up. She's coming back."

"Can I get three more shot's of tequila?" she said to the bartender as she sat down.

"And what was that?" Izzie said with a smile on her face as she nodded towards the table

"Small talk and awkward conversation. Derek stopped me on my way back."

"Why don't you just give up already? It's be a hell of a lot easier if you did." Alex said causing Meredith to glare at him.

Izzie quickly changed the subject and the atmosphere seemed to have lighten. The three of them all came to the silently conclusion that they really didn't want to approach the subject of Meredith's mysteries past. Realizing that if they were right, she really did need a night to just sit back and relax. The drinks kept coming and about an hour later they were all feeling pretty good. Not drunk but buzzed enough that Izzie some how got Alex on the dance floor. Cristina had said she need to use the bathroom and as Meredith looked down at her watch, she realized that was twenty minutes ago. She jumped a little when someone sat down next to her, letting out a deep breath. She looked up to see Addison sitting there with her head in her hands.

"I can't believe I'm about to do this." She said before looking over at Meredith "look, I'm not trying to play match maker or push you into something but you've broke him. Mark Sloan just gave up. You've rejected everything he's thrown at you and no women has been able to do that." Stopping to look her in the eye, she said "Trust me. No women. Not for this long at least and I don't know, I've never seen him this defeated. He honestly doesn't know what to do."

Meredith just nodded her head, not really sure what to say. Sure, she was somewhat friends with Addison but she wasn't liking the direction this conversation was going and she defiantly didn't like the guilty feeling slowly creeping over her.

"Deep down inside Mark is a really good guy. He has a really big heart. Sure, he a jackass most of the time and he's full of himself but it's all an act. I've never seen him fall over himself to impress a women before. I mean he actually begged Derek to come out tonight. Do what you want but it wouldn't hurt to just talk to him."

"Hey Meredith." Derek said walking up to them. Looking over at Addison, he said "Are you ready to leave?"

"Yeah. She said sending a smile over at Meredith "I'll see you at the hospital."

Meredith smiled as she nodded her head, saying "Night guy's."

Derek sent her a smile as he put his hand on the small of Addison back, leading her towards the door. She stopped suddenly, turning back to Meredith and said "When he's in, he's all in. You could be missing out on something really great. Trust me, I know."

Derek sent her a question look but she simply smiled and gave him a quick kiss. Saying good night one last time, they made their way out of the bar. Meredith's tried to avoid looking at the table where Mark now sat alone. She saw him stand up and scan the bar before throwing some bill's down on table, reaching for his jacket. It annoyed her to no end when she realized she had her beer in her hand and was walking towards the table but she had to admit, he did look pretty defeated. Later, she would blame it on the alcohol she had in her system but now, she kept telling herself that it wouldn't hurt just to talk to him.

"Hi" she said as she sat down at the table.

He raised an eyebrow before looking around. Once he realized she was indeed talking to him, he said "Hi?"

"You always say you want to get to know me better when you ask me to lunch." she said as she took her jacket off, setting on the back of the chair "Here's your chance."

Mark found himself staring at her. This was the first time he's seen her in street clothes and he had to admit, she looked pretty damn good. He took a seat across the table, motioning for another beer. They stared at each other until the waitress set a beer down in front of him.

"Well, are you going to say something?"

"I was just enjoying the view." he said, sending her a wink as a smile crossed his face. She rolled her eyes as she started to stand up. When she felt him grab her hand, she quickly pulled her hand away and almost took a defensive stance. Immediately, he pulled his hand back, saying "Sorry."

Letting out a deep breath, she sat back down and looked him in the eye, saying "Don't hit on me. If you want to actually talk, then okay. But don't just sit here and hit on me because I'll get up an walk away."

"Alright." he said before taking a drink, nodding his head "So, tell me one of your secret's Meredith Grey."

She looked at him for a second before shaking her head, saying "I don't have any secrets."

"You, of all people, have secrets. That much is obvious." he said pointing a finger in her direction.

She brushed his comment off as she took a drink of her beer. Honestly, she wasn't in the right frame of mind to keep all her lies strait so instead, she directed the questions at him.

"Why'd you come to Seattle?"

He let out a laugh, clearly understanding that she didn't want to talk about her but she didn't deny the fact that she had secrets, either. But still when smile lit up her face, he decided he could play her little game of getting to know only him. Once in a while he would get a question in and she would either give him a some what vague answer or simply brush the question off like he hadn't asked anything. The tension slowly fade and they hadn't noticed how much time had passed until Cristina walked over to the table.

"We're going to take off." she said to Meredith before looking over at Mark "Hi,"

He nodded at her as Meredith looked down at her watch, saying "I didn't realized what time it was."

"I can give you a ride home." Mark casually offered.

Before Meredith could say anything, Cristina said "Yeah, whatever but I'm not going to stand here while you two play the whole you hang up, no you hang up game. So, I'll give you ten minutes but then we're gone."

Once again, she didn't give either of them a chance to reply. She'd been keeping an eye on them for the past hour and she knew that Meredith would deny it, but she actually looked like she was having a good it. Cristina didn't come right out and say it, but she just silently gave Meredith the choice to either go home with them or go home with him. If they were right about what had happen to Meredith, Cristina figured it was the least she could do. Besides those two had so much sexual tension between them that it would be a shame if the sex wasn't mind blowing. If they would just give in.

"She's not coming?" Izzie said when Cristina got back into the car.

"I told her we'd give her ten minutes." she said as she rested her head on the back of the seat "So, wake me up in ten minutes. If she's not out here, he can take her home."


End file.
